The Fate Of Man In The Modern World

THE FATE OF MAN
IN THE MODERN WORLD

CHAPTER I

A JUDGMENT ON HISTORY—THE WAR

book, The End of Our Time, was written
eleven years ago, and fout years earlier
my Meaning of History. In these two books I set
forth my historio-sophic ideas in connection
with our arrival at the end o£ a whole historical
epoch. Much of what I then prophesied has been
fulfilled or is now taking place. But many new
elements have arisen which demand consideration,
and I feel the need to write a sort of second
volume of The End of Our Time. More keenly
than ever I feel that night and shadow are de-
scending on the world, just as was the case at
the beginning of the Middle Ages, before the
medieval Renaissance, But stars shine through
the night and dawn is coming.

It has become a banality to say that we live ia
a time of historical crisis, that a whole epoch is
ending, and a new one, as yet without a name, is
beginning. Some are glad for this, others sotty,
but all agree upon the fact. In reality what is